We spent the next day touring the Golden Circle, which took us about 185mi up into central Iceland and back. The first stop was Gullfoss (the Golden Fall). Walking down the path through misty spray reveals the breathtaking two-stage falls. Unlike falls in the US, there’s nothing but a little rope keeping onlookers from wandering too close to the edge. It felt a little dangerous and I liked it!

Reykjavík’s Old Harbor – just one of the many beautiful views of Iceland. Image: Nicholas Smith / AirlineReporter.com

Being based in Seattle, Icelandair’s nonstop flights bring Reykjavík about as close as the flight to Miami. The question that everyone keeps asking me, though, is “why would you visit Iceland?”

Iceland’s terrain and activities match Seattle’s “weather be damned” love affair with the outdoors to the tee. The trans-continental island’s atmosphere is unrelentingly Myst-esque; clean, fresh, bright, and utterly colorful. The temperate climate, driven by the warm Irminger Current, keeps the island nation splendid throughout the year. The looks are reason enough to visit, but adventure doesn’t come from looks alone.

I have flown internationally before and the standard international travel excitement led me to show up way too early. I arrived at noon and still had thirty minutes until Icelandair’s ticket counter opened. Since the airline doesn’t fly every few minutes, they don’t staff their counters at all hours of the day and night — which makes sense. I tend to forget this since I mainly travel with larger carriers and have little problem getting to the airport super early.

Promptly at noon, an Icelandair ticket agent had the place running, checked in my bag, and had me on my way. They recently adopted online check-in and ticketing and it worked perfectly. No paper, no fuss.